


For the Future

by Songspinner



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mentioned Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Post-Battle, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29726859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songspinner/pseuds/Songspinner
Summary: Felix is the only survivor among the Blue Lions after the Battle at Gronder Field. Claude tries to convince him not to give up on everything he's ever known.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	For the Future

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in Verdant Wind. Could easily be shippy or not, feel free to interpret however you like.

“I saw him surrounded by Imperial troops and...pierced by their spears. I’ll never forget it. He deserved a better end.”

Claude’s heart sank as Hilda delivered the news. He’d been sure that he could clear up whatever misunderstanding pitted the Kingdom army against their own and win the prince as an ally--and, hopefully, a friend once again. Whatever grief or rage had fueled Dimitri’s rampage across the battlefield, Claude knew that the boy he’d known must have still been in there, somewhere.

But if he was dead…

“Dimitri…” He sighed. “He went through so much to make it here, only for his efforts to be in vain.”

Hilda’s gaze dropped to the muddy, ruined earth. “I can’t even begin to understand what Dimitri must have been feeling, but…there must have been some other way. Why did he have to go like that?”

“What a stupid question.” A scathing voice cut through the heavy air. “There was no other way. The boar was lost the moment he stepped onto the field.”

Claude whirled. “...Felix. You’re alive.”

“For what it’s worth,” Felix spat. Claude’s sharp eyes picked out at least three relatively serious injuries as the swordsman approached with one arm slung over Leonie’s shoulders for support.

“Don’t talk like that.” Leonie shot him a glare. “It’s worth everything. I thought you of all people would understand that. What’s gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten  _ into _ me?” Felix shoved her away from him, stumbling in the process but accepting no help from either Claude or Hilda when they tried. “It’s over. Dimitri is  _ dead. _ My father is dead. ...Sylvain. Ingrid. They’re all dead. Our army is scattered, and I’m no warlord. The Kingdom is as good as conquered. I’m done.”

“Hey.” Sympathy and reproach warred with each other on Claude’s face; he settled for something in between. “The war hasn’t been lost yet. We sent Edelgard packing, that counts for a lot. And I have plans for how to move forward from here. We can still win this. And…” His voice softened. “I know you’ve lost a lot. Maybe you feel like you’ve lost everything. But we could really use someone with your skill and experience on our side.”

“Keep your platitudes, Riegan.” Felix planted the point of his sword in the dirt and leaned as much of his weight on it as it would take. “And your flattery. I’m sick of this war. I’m sick of Fodlan, and I’m sick of you. I should never have let Leonie convince me to talk to you.”

“Hey--”

“Now, come on--”

Claude held up a hand to halt Leonie and Hilda’s protests. “It’s okay. Felix, will you at least let me take you to a healer before you go? You won’t make it far on your own with wounds like that.”

Felix gritted his teeth. He obviously wanted to refuse, but his body was letting him know in no uncertain terms how stupid that would be. “...fine. I’ll see a healer, and then I’m leaving.”

“I can take him,” Hilda offered, but Claude shook his head.

“No, I’ve got this. Help Teach out with rounding up the stragglers, will you?”

“You got it,” Leonie said.

Once the other two were gone, Claude moved to help Felix walk toward the healers’ tent. “This would be a lot easier if you put your sword away, you know. You’re safe here.”

“Am I?” Felix scoffed. “Not half an hour ago, I watched a battalion of troops in Leicester colors put arrows through people I knew.”

“I’m sorry,” Claude said softly. “It wasn’t my intention to fight with you. Dimitri forced my hand.”

“I  _ know _ that.” Claude could feel Felix trembling in his grasp, but he couldn’t be sure whether it was emotion or injury that caused it. “That stupid boar ruined everything. He got everyone killed for nothing, just as I said he would.”

“He didn’t get  _ everyone _ killed,” Claude pointed out gently. “You’re still here.”

“Shut up.” Felix scowled. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.  _ Dimitri _ has been gone for almost a decade. That beast they skewered was no king or friend of mine.”

Claude glanced over, brow furrowed deeply. That sounded like a story he needed to hear, but...another time. First, he needed to convince Felix to stay. “Listen. I won’t pretend that I know what you’re going through, or that the rest of this war will be easy. All I want you to consider is this: you’re not the only Kingdom survivor, and as we speak, Teach is recruiting the remnants of your army to the Alliance’s ranks. They need someone who knows their capabilities, their strengths and weaknesses, to command them. Frankly, I don’t have the time to learn those things well enough to know how best to incorporate them. You do, and I’m asking you, as an ally, to help me out. Just until the war is over, one way or another, and then you’re free to do whatever you like. You’ll owe me nothing.”

For a while, the sounds of their breathing and their footsteps were his only response. But Claude didn’t push or prompt. He didn’t know Felix that well, but he knew enough to understand that a practical approach and a light touch were better bets than trying to pressure the man into anything or win him over with empathy.

Eventually, Felix said, “Can’t believe the Professor is alive.”

“It’s a real puzzle, isn’t it?” Claude agreed. “They don’t even know what happened. They claim they slept for five years. I don’t know whether that’s true--I’m just glad to have them around.”

Felix grunted in acknowledgement and fell silent again, until: “Why are you doing this? I’m one soldier, and I’m no leader.”

“Felix, please.” Claude couldn’t help a slight quirk of his lips. “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that  _ you _ of all people can’t see the difference between yourself and a common soldier. No offense to common soldiers, but you’re a veteran general with a noble’s education in warfare and tactics, and a lifetime of constant training in personal combat. You were an expert swordsman  _ before _ we went to war. And if I recall, you were always the first to remind everyone of that.”

“...I suppose you have a point.”

“Of course I do.” Claude chanced a warmer smile. “So what do you say? Will you join me, Felix?”

“...it’s not as simple as you make it sound.” The ire had drained from him, leaving behind only exhaustion. “Even if we do pull out a victory, I...I can’t go back there. To Faerghus. With both Dimitri and my father fallen, I’m next in line for the throne. Can you imagine  _ me _ as a ruler? And with Margrave Gautier as my highest-ranking advisor?” He spits into the dirt. “I’d rather challenge that bastard to a duel and run him through.”

_ Wow, that’s definitely another story I need to hear, _ Claude thought. He shook his head. “Then don’t go back.”

“Pff. And do what instead?” The words fell out of Felix’s mouth with a bitter weight. He stopped walking, his gaze fixed on something in the distance as he sagged against Claude’s shoulder. “Without Dimitri…” He sank to his knees, and Claude knelt with him. “I’ve been kidding myself since the academy. Without Dimitri, I’m nothing. My only purpose was always to fight in his name. I convinced myself otherwise, but I was a fool.”

Claude took a cautious moment to choose his reaction. It was getting more and more difficult to keep the sympathy off his face, but he knew Felix would only read it as pity and that would be the end of it. So with a carefully neutral tone, he said, “What makes you say that?”

“Look at me,” Felix muttered. “I’m still here, aren’t I? I followed the boar all the way to the end, knowing exactly what was going to happen. I went along with it like a sheep to slaughter. I was never anything but his…” He choked a little on his breath and Claude realized abruptly that he was fighting back tears. It felt like a moment frozen in time, a fundamental shift in Claude’s understanding of things; he had never seen Felix even  _ remotely _ close to crying before.

“His what?” Claude prompted quietly.

“His Shield,” Felix whispered, slumping. “And I failed. The only Fraldarius ever to outlive his king. What a disgrace.”

“Felix…” The specific implications were a bit lost on Claude, but he knew despair when he saw it, and his mask of neutrality finally cracked. The likelihood of getting pushed away and losing this delicate bid for Felix’s aid was high, but in the moment, that seemed infinitely less important than giving the man the support he so sorely needed. Claude wrapped both arms around him and almost spoke his surprise aloud when Felix relented, dropping his sword and leaning fully against Claude’s chest with a shuddering breath.

Claude held him close, for once unsure of what to say. The man in his arms would never accept  _ it’s all right _ or  _ I’m sorry _ , he knew that much. Maybe Felix didn’t need him to say anything right now. Maybe he was already doing all he needed to.

He could tell that Felix was shedding those tears now, however reluctantly, and wisely said nothing about that, either. After a few minutes, though, he patted the man lightly on the back as a signal that they needed to move on. “Come on, those wounds won’t heal themselves. And trust me, you don’t want me trying to cast any spells.”

With a surreptitious sniffle and a faint breath of a chuckle, Felix nodded and sat up, gritting his teeth against the pain. He hastily wiped his face with his sleeve and gave Claude the meanest-looking desperate plea of a glare he’d ever seen. “This never happened,” he hissed.

Claude absolutely, positively did  _ not _ smile. Not even a little. “Your secret is safe with me, I promise. Now, up you go.” Bracing himself with his shoulder under Felix’s arm, he slowly stood, pulling the other man up with him.

As they approached their destination, Claude murmured, “You know, I’ve got some noble connections outside Fodlan who would definitely be interested in hiring you on as a bodyguard, or even in a more official capacity as a warrior in their court. No need to decide right now, just something to think about. For the future.”

“...for the future, huh?” Felix’s eyes flickered briefly over to meet Claude’s for the first time. “I’ll consider it. But first, we have a war to win.”

Claude did let himself smile, this time. “That we do, my friend. That we do.”


End file.
